Sometimes in the world of investing August, not April, can be
the cruelest month, even for seasoned, long-term investors.

Although retirement vehicles like the federal TSP are strategic,
long-haul vehicles, many of us can't help but check their day-to-day progress.
We "make" a bundle when the market (our fund) is up, and we "lose" money when
it's not. Even we are years away from cashing out. The win-lose thing is hard to
shake. Example:

Holy Smoke, Batman! I'm gonna be the richest guy in the assisted
living home. Or not ...

Because a funny thing happened last Thursday, the same day that
the media was touting great economic news. While that good news was being
absorbed, recorded and broadcast and the media was doing cartwheels of joy about
the economy, a wheel fell off the good news cart.

The very same day, Thursday, of all the pent-up or just-released
good news data there was a market sell-off. It dipped, crashed or corrected,
depending on your point of view. Things went from Ecstacy to Agony in a
heartbeat.

The business section of the New York Post on Friday, Aug.
1, led with this story: DOW BELLY FLOP: 2014 Gains Erased On US and Global
Fears..

2014 gains wiped out? All of them? Gone?

So what should you do, sell, hold or sit there like a deer in the
headlights? Do you bail out of the C, S and I funds (as you may have done during
the recession), or do you hang tough and keep buying at what may be "bargain" (or
at least more reasonable) prices.

Financial planner Arthur Stein says the thing to remember
about long-term investing, as in investing for retirement, is to think long term.
" Longer time periods are more meaningful. Funds — except for the Treasury
securities G fund — were down in July, but up year-to-date, 12 months, 3, 5
and 10 years."

After the year the stock market had (2013), "A positive return
of any amount in 2014 would be icing on the cake," Stein said.

So what should TSP contributors, big small, young and nearing
retirement, be doing to protect or increase their balances? We'll talk with Stein
today at 10 a.m. on our Your Turn radio show. If you have questions
or
comments, you
can e-mail them to
me
before the show, or call in on air at 202-465-3080.

VA Changes/Pension Plan Rollback

Later in the show we'll talk with Federal Times Senior Writer
Andy Medici. Topics include the VA's new crackdown-on-executives plan, a
new Defense pay plan and a bill that would rollback pension contributions for new
feds.

2014 Causey Award winners
announcedFederal News Radio announces the winners of the fifth annual
Causey Awards, recognizing professionals who have gone above and beyond in the
human-resources arena to help the government operate better.

GSA pushing agencies to reuse, recycle
electronicsThe General Services Administration plans to have draft
governmentwide policies for reusing and recycling used electronics by the end of
this fiscal year. Kevin Kampschroer, deputy senior sustainability official for GSA
announced the agency's efforts at the release of the updated national strategy for
sustainable electronics.